Art and Poems

These are some of the birth art I've done during this pregnancy, and some of the poems that have inspired me. You can click on the pictures to see a larger version. Enjoy!

I could feel my blood like a river inside me
and my breast deep and thigh and womb
ready for a new child
and strong labor for it
and I liked it.

~Meridel Le Sueur

As I quietly sit with you, my child, here inside of me,
I ask God to hold your hand and guide you in your journey.
You shall come to me in innocence and love
I accept this gift and am thankful for it.
I ask that I be made strong and loving and that I be a good parent.
It's time to say good-bye to my pregnant body andto receive the fullness of your love.
May your life always be filled with light.
Amen

~ Barbara Harper (Gentle Birth Choices)

A woman
in harmony
with her spirit
is like
a river flowing.

She goes
where she will
without pretense
and arrives
at her destination,

prepared
to be herself
and
only
herself.

~ Maya Angelou

We have a secret in our culture,

and it's not that birth is painful.

It's that women are strong.

~ Laura Stavoe Harm

Rain, after all is only rain;

it is not bad weather. So also,

pain is only pain; unless we resist it,

then it becomes torment.

~ I Ching

Willow Tree

I am a willow tree,
Strong, yet fluid

graceful.

I can bend with the wind,
but my roots are tough,

indestructible.

ng to birth my child
is flowing with the wind:

from a soft and gentle breeze
to a stormy gale
back to a soft and gentle breeze.

My body is strong, but flexible.
It is my friend, it knows how to
I am a friend to my body

eating well, walking, and loving myself.

I shall birth safely, freely,y . . .

among my loved and trusted ones.

I am the willow, flexible

beautiful resilient
endowed with the power of surrender

to the wind rustling through my leaves,

my branches.

My roots reach deep into Mother Earth
Anchored in Her strength
I bring forth life
In joy!

~Anonymous

"Domestic Goddess"

A birth art about becoming a mother of three and being more than I thought

"Birth in the Bathroom"

One thing I feared was the baby coming too soon and having to give birth alone. This picture shows me coping with that "surprise"

"To Mommy From Hailey"

The caption reads: "so you can be brave when the baby's born." She says it's a picture of tears and growling and being brave.

"Womb with a View"

A picture of my son, smiling and listening to my life going on around him. He has his own thoughts too, but I don't know what they are. I don't know his reasons for coming, but I'm excited to meet him!

"Dancing"

I'm dancing with no head on my shoulders and no arms or legs. My body gives birth, with or without the rest of me.